Written questions by Snowden.

What estimate he has made of the potential number of historical child sexual abuse cases likely to be brought following the removal of the limitation period for such claims.

Measuring the scale and nature of child sexual abuse is difficult because it is usually hidden from view. Victims often feel unable to report their experiences and adults are not always able to recognise that abuse is taking place. As a result, there is no data available to represent the full scale of the issue. We therefore do not know how many people are currently experiencing, or have experienced, child sexual abuse or how many potential victims and survivors may be impacted by these changes.However, the Government recognises, as was reinforced by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, that it might take years and in many cases decades for the victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to come forward and feel ready to disclose their trauma. That is why we accepted the critical issue the Inquiry sought to remedy in calling for reform of limitation law to overcome some of the barriers to justice that are faced by victims and survivors.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on democratic accountability of abolishing Police and Crime Commissioners.

The Government is committed to transferring police governance functions to mayors, or to Policing and Crime Boards consisting of locally elected leaders where it is not possible to do so by 2028.Moving police governance functions to locally elected leaders will bring better outcomes for the public and policing. They sit across a range of different public services and budgets and are better positioned to promote collaboration across services and drive a holistic approach to crime prevention.Policing and Crime Boards will have a democratic mandate as they will be made up of locally elected leaders.

What recent assessment she has made of the prevalence of racially or religiously aggravated abuse of emergency workers within private dwellings.

Following the feedback we have received from police stakeholders, clauses 107 to 109 of the Crime and Policing Bill introduces two new offences aimed at protecting emergency workers with from abuse in a private welling. This will include racially or religiously aggravated abuse towards an emergency worker.This measure seeks to ensure the full protection of the law follows emergency workers wherever their duties take them, including behind closed doors.

How many officers dismissed from the National Crime Agency have subsequently joined police forces in the UK since 2017.

Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.The police barred list came into force on 15 December 2017 and contains the details of any police officer, special constable or member of police staff who has been dismissed from policing from misconduct or performance. Inclusion on the barred list is automatic at the point of dismissal and acts as a bar to joining police forces and other policing bodies.The Government is strengthening this position and protecting wider law enforcement through the Crime and Policing Bill, with new barred lists for the National Crime Agency, as well as for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police. This legislation will ensure that those dismissed from the NCA are prevented from re-entering policing.

What consultation has taken place with (a) Police and Crime Commissioners and (b) police staff associations on the establishment of the proposed National Centre of Policing.

The Home Office has been working with policing partners on police reform, including through the Joint Police Reform Team.This has included engagement with local police chiefs, police and crime commissioners and staff associations. We will publish the White Paper later this year.

What steps she is taking to ensure that victims of coerced internal concealment receive appropriate support and safeguarding.

The Government is introducing a new criminal offence of coerced internal concealment in the Crime and Policing Bill, recognising the serious physical and psychological harm that this form of criminal exploitation can cause.The new offence will be accompanied by statutory guidance for law enforcement and non-statutory guidance aimed at frontline practitioners to aid their understanding and improve the identification and safeguarding of victims of coerced internal concealment.In addition, through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs behind the trade. Between July 2024 and June 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed, 6,200 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders), and 600 knives seized.County Lines Programme partners have also referred over 3,200 children and vulnerable people to safeguarding services and provided specialist one-to-one support through Catch22’s county lines service to more than 500 children and young people.

What recent assessment she has made of the prevalence of organised begging networks operating in England.

The Government has introduced targeted measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to replace the powers in the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824 to ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe, including a new criminal offence of facilitating begging for gain.This is intended to address organised begging, which is often facilitated by criminal gangs, and exploits vulnerable individuals.This offence makes it unlawful for anyone to organise others to beg, for example, by driving people to places for them to beg. It will allow the police to tackle the organised crime gangs that use this exploitative technique to obtain cash for illicit activity. Recording these crimes will also allow us to develop an improved picture of prevalence of this activity across the country.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the US government shutdown on (a) sanctions coordination, (b) security cooperation and (c) other joint UK–US foreign policy initiatives.

We remain in constant contact with our US counterparts on a range of joint foreign policy initiatives and priorities.

Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) UEFA and (b) FIFA on the participation of Israel in international football.

The Secretary of State has not had such discussions with UEFA and FIFA. The government fully respects the independence and autonomy of sports organisations. Decisions on participation in international sports events are a matter for the relevant international sport federations and their national representatives.

How many child benefit claims have been suspended from claimants as a result of data-sharing between HMRC and the Home Office in Fylde constituency since September 2025.

It is not possible to provide the information requested for the Fylde constituency since September 2025. This is because HMRC do not hold the information at a constituency level.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure compliance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, published on 16 December 2016.

My department remains absolutely committed to the highest standards for all public appointments campaigns; DCMS is responsible for over 400 public appointment roles and has handled 80 appointments so far this year. The Department has recently reviewed all DCMS public appointments processes and systems in order to ensure that they are as robust as possible. This included confirming compliance with the revised Governance Code of Public Appointments published on 30 October 2025.

When she expects HMRC to complete its review of suspended child benefit claims.

As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce error and fraud in the Child Benefit system, HMRC undertook a pilot last year using international travel data. This pilot saw thousands of people who had left the UK but carried on claiming Child Benefit removed from the system, preventing around £17m in incorrect payments. This led to the expansion of the measure and investment in an additional 180 counter-fraud staff, announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, and is expected to save around £350 million over the next five years. In expanding the process over the past few months, a check of HMRC PAYE systems to look for continuing UK employment was excluded on around 23,500 enquiries in order to streamline the process, with a view to employment status being tested as part of any subsequent customer enquiry. We have apologised for this. Following concerns being raised, swift action was taken to improve the processes. A decision was made on 29 October to reinstate the employment check for all cases with immediate effect, meaning that HMRC’s risking has a higher success rate for identifying ineligible claims. HMRC reviewed all compliance cases already opened and conducted a PAYE check. These checks were completed for all customers on 14 November. Where there was evidence that customers had continued UK employment, HMRC reinstated payments automatically without any need for customer contact and those payments have been backdated. By the end of November, HMRC will have written to all customers who have not yet contacted them to provide a further 4 weeks to make contact. HMRC will also be responding to the Treasury Select Committee to outline the steps it has taken in relation to this issue.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the number of young people not in employment, education, or training on economic growth in (a) Lancashire and (b) England.

When this Government came to office there were almost 1 million young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) and this Government is determined to address this. The Government understands the negative effects of unemployment can be particularly pronounced for young people and can have longstanding implications on their future earnings potential and life chances. This is why the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has a particular focus on ensuring young people are supported into employment, whilst also recognising their needs will vary depending on where they live and their own individual circumstances. In Lancashire, DWP currently operates seven Youth Hubs in partnership with local organisations. These hubs bring together employment support from a Jobcentre work coach and place-based support from local partnerships to help young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) into work. These are located in Pendle, Burnley, Hyndburn, Blackburn, Preston, Fleetwood, and Blackpool. Additionally, all Lancashire Jobcentres offer the Movement to Work programme, providing young people with valuable work experience placements designed to build confidence, develop skills, and improve job prospects. Building on existing support the government’s is also developing a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. As a first step, we are working with eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers across England which are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people NEET or at risk of becoming NEET. This includes strengthening local coordination, through local leadership, and outreach to better connect young people with opportunities. We will use the learning from these Trailblazers to inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls out across the rest of Great Britain. In addition, the Government is investing £25 million to expand Youth Hubs. This investment will almost double the number of Youth Hubs to over 200 across England, Scotland and Wales over the next three years, ensuring more young people can access personalised, wraparound support in their local communities. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has also announced that every eligible young person who has been on Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning will be offered guaranteed paid work. Participants of the scheme will receive support to take advantage of available opportunities, with the aim of helping them transition into regular employment. The scheme forms part of the government’s aim to provide targeted support for young people at risk of long-term unemployment. Further details including eligibility criteria and the structure of placements, will be confirmed at the Budget.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the use of GPS-enabled smart watches on the security of UK defence sites.

The Ministry of Defence has strict rules governing where smart devices, including GPS-enabled smart watches, can and cannot be used. We do not comment on the detail of those measures.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of local careers advice and guidance services in preventing young people from becoming not in employment, education or training in Lancashire.

The department funds a network of careers hubs across England to drive up standards of careers provision for young people. Lancashire Careers Hub works with 162 secondary schools and colleges to connect careers provision to regional skills needs, aligned with the Lancashire Skills and Employment Strategic Framework.Through the Boosting Skills Pathway Fund, the careers hub works with local small and medium enterprises to break down barriers and connect young people to diverse pathways including T Levels.In the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, the department committed to prevent young people becoming not in education, employment or training through more effective use of data by local partners and by ensuring that those without a post-16 study plan are automatically allocated a place at a local college or further education provider.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has provided to (a) developers and (b) investors on ensuring that applications to the Building Safety Regulator (i) provide the required detail and (ii) meet the required standards to avoid rejection.

New guidance, developed with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), supports industry to better understand all aspects of the new building control regime. A joint Building Safety Regulator (BSR)-CLC working group with Tier 1 developers is also addressing key challenges and identifying areas for improvement. More broadly, BSR run a series of webinars covering both design and construction requirements, as well as in-occupation requirements, and has published guidance online including “getting building control applications right.” BSR is actively supporting the Construction Leadership Council to publish a further suite of industry guidance, expected around mid-November on the statutory documents accompanying building control approval applications, staged approvals and Gateway 3.

What steps she is taking to ensure that irregular migrants deported under the UK/France treaty entitled Agreement on the Prevention of Dangerous Journeys, published on 5 August 2025, do not return to the UK illegally.

The Department continues to work closely with French counterparts to ensure migrants returned under the UK-France agreement are clearly aware of the consequences of returning to the UK illegally – that they will be subject to removal once again - and to support French officials in encouraging migrants to pursue other options available to them in France. Where previously removed individuals have returned to the UK by small boat, they have been swiftly identified, detained and progressed for removal.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of covering the insurance costs of employers taking on volunteer workers; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on the number of people not in employment, education or training.

DWP recognises that there are many benefits to volunteering for individuals, including for those not in employment, education or training. These include gaining new skills, knowledge and experience, improving physical and mental wellbeing, growing confidence and improving a person's CV. We have worked with the Royal Voluntary Service and with a group of charities who make up Shaping the Future with Volunteering to develop a ‘Volunteering Toolkit’ to support DWP operational staff, including work coaches, to connect customers to volunteering opportunities. We also ran a two-week internal communications campaign in Autumn 2024 to raise the profile of volunteering as a step towards work. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) protects employees and others who may be affected by work activities. This includes those volunteering for, or on behalf of an organisation. Employers must include volunteers, as well as employees, in risk assessments to identify significant risks and implement effective control measures. Any further insurance beyond statutory requirements is a commercial decision for an employer.

What steps he is taking to encourage businesses to offer work experience placements to recent university graduates.

The government encourages work experience through various initiatives spanning various departments. The Department for Business and Trade published the UK’s Industrial, Trade and Small Business Strategies, which were developed in partnership with business, with positive feedback from leading business organisations. For example, the Industrial Strategy will provide an additional £1.2bn of investment in the skills system by 2028-29.The Department for Work and Pensions has an established strong network of partnerships with external training providers, universities, and graduate employment platforms to enhance graduate employment opportunities.DWP are reforming Jobcentre Plus to create a new, more personalised employment support service across Great Britain. This new service will move away from a one-size-fits-all approach and recognise that individuals – including graduates – have different needs. It will provide tailored help to find good, meaningful work and support progression in employment, with a stronger focus on skills and careers.

What recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of the suspension of child benefit payments on families also receiving other forms of social security support.

No assessment has been made. Child Benefit, administered by His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), is not taken into account as income when calculating a Universal Credit award or other means-tested benefits. It is used to assess benefit levels for the purpose of determining whether to apply the benefit cap which limits the amount of social security benefits a working age household can receive. The benefit cap is applied through Housing Benefit and Universal Credit. The Department will continue to work closely with HMRC on all relevant matters.